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Monday, October 18, 2010

Cinnamon Skewered Lamb Kabobs

This summer has been a slow one for barbecuing on the grill for us, so in a last ditch effort before fall truly hits, I finally made a recipe I've been scheming for a while... I figure it's still summer somewhere and we still have a few days of warmth left over here, so this recipe won't be in vain :)

I was inspired to make this recipe after we had something similar on a trip to Israel a few years back. My husband had ordered a ground beef kabob called Kabob Halabi at a restaurant, and it surprisingly came out on a long cinnamon stick skewer. It tasted incredible and we thought it was a great idea. So- a few years later, I decided to make my own version of it, but with ground lamb. My husband described this one as possibly the best thing ever created :)

I used cinnamon sticks that are 6 inches long, but I would have preferred 12 inch ones to make it easier for grilling/preparing. I did find some online, but didn't have a chance to order them. The 6" ones I got from Costco. The ground lamb I got at Whole Foods (New Zealand lamb), but if you can't find it, you can usually ask a butcher to grind lamb for you or find a halal grocer.

So here is the recipe (it's quite simple)- hope you enjoy as much as we did!!

Sprinkle your seasonings on top of lamb and stir with a spoon to break up the meat. Then mix with your hand until it is soft and sticks together. With one hand grab a meatball size piece and work onto your cinnamon stick. Dampen your hand to help the meat move better.

before grilling

I grilled my meat for 5 minutes, then turned after 2 minutes to the other side, 2 minutes the next side, and another 1-2 the next. All in all it was about 10-12 minutes total for a juicy but well done kabob. If you care about aesthetics, you can also cover the ends of the cinnamon sticks in foil to keep them from burning. Either way, the cinnamon will be nicely infused into the lamb.